Midway through Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire, a series that gets richer and darker by the episode – do yourself a favour. Last night Eli Thompson wants his kid to leave the garage, so asks the boy to fetch a left-handed beebletzer.

Do you have a similar ‘apprentice prank’ to relate? I once worked at a pub, where we’d tell the new guy to get a Spring Glen Shiraz from the wine room. The room existed; the wine didn’t. Ever been punk’d with striped paint, a reflux cable or platinum skyhooks? Or is there a BS term that does the office rounds?

And a puzzle to prime your morning, plays with director’s cut. What famous director, when cut by one letter, creates a director’s film-making consideration? And if TONE (or LIVER or ERST) can be cut from OLIVER STONE, what directors can produce the cuts below?

FELL

PIKE

IDLY

TOP

IDLE

SCAM

TINT

ROUGH

Blab below. And make your own (with byline and number.)

And yes, here’s the post where we get to adore/abhor the best/worst of the week’s Brit puzzles, most notably from The Times (in the Oz) and The Guardian. Solve and share right here.

Gargantuan News

Yep, my Gargantuan Book of Words is big & full of words. Not just English but secret codes, Papuan pidgin, Zulu worms, sound FX, funny goldfish, letter origami. You get the drift? It's big. It's fun. And it's out now.

Packed with games, pickles, codes and cheesy puns, Wordburger is your chance to be a champion puzzler in 20 quick bites. Ideal for wordy kids keen to open a new language door, or grown-ups who want to cut their cryptic teeth. Click here.